We have just acquired a Luminex 200 platform and were told the coStar 6509 plates were dirt cheap. However, they retail for $180/25, which means each plate costs $7.20. I know D-MARK Biosciences, a Canadian company, manufactures plates that are very similar to ABI's Optical Plates and they sell them at $125/50, meaning $2.50 per plate. BIOplastics likewise has plates that retail for $3 each.

The problem is that the Luminex platform is designed in such a way that only very short plates can fit in.